


No Exit

by ghoulaesthetics (astraielle)



Series: tumblr prompts [17]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Drunk Kisses, F/F, Prompt Fic, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 23:50:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12641796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astraielle/pseuds/ghoulaesthetics
Summary: The calm before the storm. That’s what this was, wasn’t it?





	No Exit

**Author's Note:**

> me bangin pots and pans together: THIS IS A GOOD SHIP THAT DESERVES ATTENTION 
> 
> "6 for the kiss meme, with Ash/Tali <3" with 6 being 'tipsy kiss'

The calm before the storm. That’s what this was, wasn’t it? Ashley was sure that this was quite possibly the last time any of them would be happy, or, if not that, the last time any of them would be alive. It was hard to say, when you were staring down a final battle like this. Not that anyone had expressly acknowledged it as such; but the reality of the situation hung in the air like a heavy mist, with everyone trying to drown it out through the thrumming music and various liquors. 

As much as she tried for the sake of everyone else at Shepard’s apartment, it was getting progressively more difficult for her to keep up. What she needed was a break, just a quick second to step away and refresh herself. It probably wasn’t helping that she was on her third drink now (maybe her fourth, maybe more; she’d been more liberal with them early on in the evening and while she was pretty sure her math was reliable, mistakes happened) and her head was starting to swim. 

On reflex, she topped her glass up from the bar as she glanced around the room. A quick scan told her the majority of the crew had convened in the living room, a mass of people talking and laughing loudly, maybe with a little too much force. She appreciated the effort, though, and hell, less than twenty minutes ago she’d been right there in the middle of it too. 

As discreetly as possible, she skirted the edge of the room, gracefully avoiding any chance of being pulled in for conversation, pulled into the heat of things. Shepard had given them free run of her place, more or less, and she remembered a brief conversation from earlier that mapped out the bathrooms in the spacious apartment. The ones upstairs were more likely to be free, and less likely to see anyone drunkenly stumble into them by accident. 

The stairs barely made a sound under her weight as she travelled upwards. Rounding a corner, she made her way through the snake-like layout of the upper floor, eventually finding herself in the guest bedroom. The only light in the room turned on was the one on the bedside table, giving off a warm orange glow that reminded her of a firelight. The guest bathroom was off to the left, she could see the door frame from where she was standing. Odd, someone had left the light on in there. She couldn’t hear any noises to indicate that someone was inside, and so she crossed the floor and pushed open the door.

She nearly dropped her glass in surprise when she looked up. So the room was occupied after all–but Tali’s form looked still as a statue from behind. The helmet she wore, that Ashley had never seen her out of, lay discarded to the side, revealing a tangle of wavy shoulder-length hair in a deep purple colour. Ashley blinked stupidly a few times before she cleared her throat. Somewhere in the back of her head she wondered why she even bothered to announce her presence–Tali was so engrossed in whatever was staring back at her in the mirror that she probably could have just slipped quietly back out the same way she came in. Instead, though, she stood there and decided to speak. 

“Shit–sorry. I didn’t realize someone was in here,” she apologized. 

Tali flinched, visibly startled at the noise. She whirled around, a little unsteady on her feet, and leaned back against the bathroom counter, bracing herself with her hands. She was drunk, that much was obvious. If Ashley hadn’t been able to smell it, it would have been clear enough from just her motions. 

She took a minute to drink in the appearance of the unmasked Quarian–Ashely had always found her cute, in theory. A nice body, the tough-yet-sweet personality, the clear intellect, the work ethic; all qualities she found attractive in a woman. She’d be lying if she told herself that she hadn’t always been curious to see what she really looked like under there (not that she’d ever ask such a thing outright). And she didn’t find herself disappointed in the slightest. Her eyes were large and clear, a slight, soft blue tinge to them and no pupils. Her skin was a pale violet, with dark ridges of an almost black-blue creating swirling designs on her cheekbones, chin, and forehead. Two of the ridges mimicked narrow, sloping eyebrows. They looked almost bioluminescent under the white bathroom vanity lights. She found her ears cute too, thinking that they almost reminded her of frilled gils on a fish. 

With an expression that was somewhere between a smirk and a scowl, she tossed her head to the side and said “You should take a picture, Williams–I hear that they last longer.” 

Realizing that she’d maybe stared a little too hard–must have been the brain fog, making her sluggish, she reasoned–she forced herself to look away. Her eyes focused on the melting ice cubes in her glass, and the way drops of condensation ran over her fingers. Instead of answering her question, she instead offered “I thought that removing parts of the suit was dangerous. Thought that just a puncture could kill you.” Her eyes flicked back up to Tali. “Seems like a bit more exposed than just a small puncture here.” 

Tali shrugged, running a hand through her loose hair. “You noticed?” She grinned. “The Geth–they’ve been working on ways to fix out immune system issues. I can get away with this for a bit. Probably won’t kill me.” 

“Probably,” she echoed, taking a step into the bathroom. Suddenly, finding time for herself alone seemed less important–this enclosed space filled with their two bodies was suddenly the most interesting situation she’d ever come across. 

(Though that was probably just the alcohol talking.) 

“Probably doesn’t sound overly certain,” she countered, letting her back hit the wall gently. The air between them was thick and palpable. Only a few feet of distance, somehow too close and too far at once. “’Probably’ sounds more like blind hope.”

She shrugged again. “I dare you to do me one better in a situation like this,” she said smoothly, letting her head roll lazily to the other side. “I dare you to find something better.” Her gaze was scrutinizing, unwavering as she narrowed her eyes slightly at Ashley. It wasn’t cold. It was… curious. Ashley got the feeling they’d started talking about something else entirely. 

“I really can’t,” she shook her head. “I don’t think anyone here can. For anything.” 

“So, we can hope for the best outcome instead,” Tali finished. “Like, I can hope that I won’t get sick from this–and if I do, that’s on me isn’t it? My choice.” 

“Sure, that’s one way of looking at it. But it’s not really. I mean, outside forces and all that crap–like yeah, you moved your hand, but was the outcome really up to you?” The words flowed freely from her mouth, coming with a surprising amount of confidence from someone who was sure that she wasn’t really making a whole lot of sense at the moment. It was the only this she was certain of at all. 

“Maybe I like to think it was.” She moved a few stray pieces of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes to the side. “Maybe the illusion of control feels  _good._  I’m sure you can agree on that.” Swaying slightly, she stepped forward into Ashley’s space, breathing her air and making sure that she stood far too close to be casual. 

“Yeah?” She asked, breathing harder than she had been a second ago. “And what about me makes you think that, Tali’Zorah?” The hand that she’s been holding in front of her with the glass in it had dropped to the side, holding onto the cup with only the tips of her fingers now. It dangled precariously. 

“What humans call a ‘hunch’–and anyone who’s watched you do anything would probably agree, Lieutenant-Commander.” She stared at her unblinkingly, eyes fixed on her face. Small, semi-pointed teeth chewed on her lower lip in contemplation. Tali’s hands had moved up to the sides of Ashley’s faced, palms pressed on the wall behind her. She wasn’t trapped there–it’d be far too easy to move her aside and walk away. But she didn’t. 

“Rank doesn’t have to do with shit,” she said in a near-whisper, answering a question she wasn’t sure was even asked. 

“You’re  _probably_  right about that,” she said, still unblinking. And then, in a split second, Tali moved forward with more dexterity than Ashley thought she was capable of. The kiss was open-mouthed and sloppy, the first contact of tongue making Ashley drop the glass that had been hanging from her hand. It shattered on the tile floor and the scent of spilt screwdriver permeated the room. 

Her hands stayed limp and useless at her side, but the didn’t move to push away Tali’s body when she pressed closer either. Tali was white-hot heat and Ashley needed  _more_ , whatever ‘more’ was. She let out a soft sound that she never heard herself make before when Tali bit down on her lower lip, the points of her teeth drawing minute amounts of blood in their wake. She dragged her tongue across the pinprick wounds after, taking her time to taste before pushing her tongue back into Ashley’s mouth. She tasted like metal and salt and drink and everything good and real in the galaxy right now. 

Ashley only placed her hands lightly on her waist when they finally pulled away from each other, breathing hard and making faltering attempts at eye contact. 

“Like I said,” Tali started in a voice that sounded almost strained. “A hunch. You’re more transparent than you think.” 

Ashley didn’t know what to say to that, if there was real truth in it or if they were both just drunk and talking out their ass. 

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” As she let her hands slip from her sides, Tali moved back to her previous position of leaning against the bathroom counter. “With what we’re doing for a living–I’m not so sure.” 

“Never said it was,” she said, eyes flashing something unknown. “But you can take it whatever way you like. I won’t stop you.” She rolled her shoulders like she was working a kink out of her back. “I like talking with you, you know. You should come down to engineering more often. Right now though–I should probably tell you, the real reason I had the helmet off is that I’m fairly certain I’m going to be sick soon. So unless you need that image seared into your retinas…” 

Understanding at once, she pushed off from the wall. “Right. Say no more. You should probably come back downstairs when you’re done, though. Apparently, we’re being forced into a group photo soon.”

Tali looked at her one last time, and then nodded silently as if they had shared some great secret information between them.

As she left the small bathroom with the fluorescent lights and the girl who tasted like alcoholic spun sugar, she made a mental note to come back later and clean the broken glass. 

 She’d probably forget that by morning. 


End file.
